zachass wrote:Thank you for posting your pictures Connie. They answered a couple of questions I had.

I really like the idea of taping the ground tarp to the sides of the yurt! Is that just regular duct tape?

Now, I think I'll be able to fit my futon in the bed of my small truck to sit & sleep on! W00t!! I'll just have to place the futon in the center of the yurt and 'build' it around the futon. Yay Sleep!!

Do you plan to build the yurt around your truck? I'm not sure there is enough room in a standard hexayurt for that We ran low on the bi-filament tape so we used Gorilla tape for the ground tarp taping on the sides. It held well but slipped a bit in the heat - I would NOT use Gorilla tape for seams, but for the ground tarp it was fine. I saw many people who didn't tape the ground tarp, so it may not be totally necessary, but it kept out a lot of dust.

One idea we had for next year is to put pipe insulation around the bottom perimeter walls and anchor the yurt down so the insulation "squishes" into the ground, creating a dust-proof seal. We did this on the door side as an experiment and it worked well. The insulation is bulkier to transport than tape, but it will save us time over taping a tarp. Of course this won't work if the ground is uneven, but the playa is pretty flat, fortunately.

Elorrum wrote:I've wondered about the quality of the air inside. Is there a circulation plan? Does that foam outgas some chemicals or a smell? They seem to be taped up pretty airtight.

I've been in a few yurts over the years and I think it comes down to what your doing inside the yurt during the week, and how much you keep your door open. I'll give you two yurts..

Yurt A) Had one person inside of it with all that persons gear. They used the yurt to change, sleep, and relax in leaving it sealed up and otherwise unoccupied. The person had a car air freshener in it to cover up the (cig) smoke smell of guests. Overall the yurt normally smelled like the air freshener, even at the end of the week. But you should consider the person was packing away dirty clothes into a bin as the week went on. (I only know this because everything inside was labeled)

Yurt B) Smelled like something between a locker room and a bad swinger house. The person was often engaging in "fun" activities of a naughty nature, along with smoking inside the yurt. While the person had a air freshener, it was the spry in air kind. Also dirty clothes where gathered into a corner, next to the persons cooler that had a leak. By the end of the week the person had the door open.

I remember seeing at least one yurt with a filter/fan port to the side, although I have no clue how well that works. Although a common thing I do see is a hand-fan hanging down and running.

ConnieH wrote:My boyfriend built the shade structure for the entry, which I just loved...gave us a place to chill with our friends and passersby, and kept the yurt cleaner and cooler. I can't imagine not having a "front porch", because like someone mentioned, the yurt isn't very inviting on it's own.

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Whether you are in an RV or yurt or Carport or tent, take the pre-playa time to make some kind of shaded place outside of your door, like the great example above. (and ALWAYS shade it on three sides.)

To not have a shaded place to relax and feel the environment (instead of being insulated from it) is to miss a great part of being on the playa.

Otherwise, you have to leave home to chill in some public space?

Many people in "closed" homes at BM stay in them far longer then they might want to as to "step outside" requires getting oneself "ready" and that can be a tall order. Whereas shade right out your door is super friendly and will require no disruption to your brain.

Palpatation = NICE set up!
How'd you do the porch?! Looks super easy and effective.
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Lots of gooooood info in this thread, keepin' cool......on the less costly plan.
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This is the thread on homemade swamp coolers, FIGJAM says they work great!
It's a very interesting project and worth looking at the thread below for sure.

bigblurr wrote:I want to put together a yurt this year for Burning Man and also Flipside. Are there plans online that you can post a link to? I can't seem to find any that are very helpful.

I was considering a yurt at Flipside, but it seems like a lot of the advantages go right out the window when you aren't in the desert. The winds aren't going to be intense, so you don't need the structural engineering. The humidity keeps the temps from dropping at night, so you'd have to put a lot more work into cooling and ventilating to make it central Texas summer friendly. I'm thinking dome tent for Flipside, then build a hexayurt for that thing in the desert.